China is building Europe battery supply in Morocco, VW unit says
China is building a battery supply chain for Europe in Morocco, as the continent struggles to develop its own industry to feed electric-car manufacturing, PowerCo’s operations head said.
“We don’t have any supply chain. This has to be set up,” Sebastian Wolf, chief operating officer for Volkswagen’s battery unit, said Tuesday at an event in Stuttgart. “Right now, we have to be honest that the set-up of LFP supply chain is happening in Morocco and not in Europe.”
China has a tight grip on global battery making, as well as the raw materials like lithium, nickel and cobalt needed to make them. Europe is trying to build its own supply chain, but is years behind in terms of technology. At the same time, the region is losing investment to the US and Canada, where government financial incentives have been more aggressive.
Lithium iron phosphate batteries are quickly gaining adoption as a less expensive technology that has become more efficient in recent years. China can produce LFP batteries at nearly half the cost of the global average, according to BloombergNEF.
Morocco is rich in phosphate resources, key to making LFP cells. The country is also positioned on the doorstep of Europe and benefits from free-flowing trade with the US.
Last year, CNGR Advanced Material Co., a Chinese maker of battery components, announced it was joining forces with African private investment fund Al Mada to build an industrial base in Morocco. With a total investment of more than $2 billion, they said they aimed to begin output of battery materials at a new site in Jorf Lasfar, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, in 2025.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
In 1958 John Deere Construction made its first introduction to the industry with their model 64 bulldozer.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Weir is a global leader in mining technology. We recognise that our planet’s future depends on the transition to renewable energy, and that...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
